The _uterus_ is a pear-shaped organ, about three inches long, two inches broad above, and one inch thick, situated in the pelvic cavity between the rectum and the bladder. The wide part or _fundus_ is above and the narrow neck or _cervix_ below, lying partly within the vagina. The whole is held in place by ligaments. These include the _broad ligaments_, which extend from the sides of the uterus to the lateral walls of the pelvis, and the _round ligaments_, two muscular cords, about four inches long, which pass out through the abdominal ring into the inguinal canal and so to the mons veneris and labia, thus corresponding to the spermatic cords in the male. The cavity of the body of the uterus is small and flattened and opens into the cervix by the _internal os uteri_, the _external os_ being at the opening of the cervix into the vagina. There are three _coats_: a serous coat derived from the peritoneum, a muscular coat of unstriped fibers which forms the bulk of the whole organ, and a mucous coat covered with ciliated epithelium. The uterus is always enlarged during menstruation and is enormously enlarged in pregnancy. It receives the fecundated ovum, retains and supports it during the development of the fetus, and is the chief agent of expulsion. In _tubal_ or _extra-uterine pregnancy_ the ovum becomes attached in the tube instead of in the uterus, and develops there, rupturing the tube and causing serious hemorrhage. The passage from the cervix out of the body is the _vagina_, a membranous canal, curved upward and backward to conform to the axis of the pelvis, and attached above to the cervix. Ordinarily the sides are in contact. The _arteries_ of the internal organs of generation are the uterine from the internal iliac and the ovarian from the aorta in the female, the pudic branches of the internal iliac and the spermatic from the aorta in the male. The _nerves_ are largely from the sympathetic system. _Abscess formation_ occurs frequently in the tubes and _gonorrheal infection_ may spread up the vagina and through the uterus to the tubes, and even to the abdominal cavity itself. The tubes may also be _tubercular_. _Salpingectomy_ or removal of the tubes is the commonest operation after that for appendicitis. _Cancer_ of the uterus may necessitate _panhysterectomy_ or removal of the uterus and all its appendages. [Illustration: FIG. 67.--Virginal vulva. (Modified from Tarnier.) 1, labia majora; 2, fourchette; 3, labia minora; 4, glans clitoridis; 5, meatus urinarius; 6, vestibule; 7, entrance to the vagina; 8, hymen; 9, orifice of Bartholin’s gland; 10, anterior commissure of labia majora; 11, anus; 12, blind recess; 13, fossa navicularis; 14, body of clitoris.] The _external genitalia_ in the female, as in the male, are situated over the pubic arch. They are known as the _vulva_ and include the mons Veneris, the labia majora and minora, the vaginal orifice, the clitoris, and the meatus urinarius.